By Kat Rippy, M.S. & Ashley Seeley, Ph.D.
Organizations across the globe are facing an overwhelming challenge as AI rolls into every aspect of the business. It’s hard to know where to start, what needs to be regulated, what new tools to provide, and what new policies need to be created. As a result, many organizations have made little progress harnessing AI as a strategy for business success.
The truth is, by doing nothing you’re crushing your teams.
Without a clear AI strategy, employees are forced to adapt on their own, which means learning on the fly, experimenting in silos, and applying AI without alignment or structure. It creates friction, confusion, and often, fear. Concerns about job security, pressure to upskill rapidly, and a foggy understanding of expectations all compound the stress and fragmentation.
This isn’t just a tech rollout, it’s organizational transformation. Therefore, it can’t be handled like a typical IT deployment. Change management must be front and center, in partnership with HR, communications, and leadership. This transformation, and subsequent culture change, has to be people-first, supported by new AI tools, not the other way around.
So how can leaders set their organizations up for AI success?
1. Tell the Story, Set the Tone, and Create Expectations
Frame your strategy around opportunity. Consider how AI can add value without replacing people. Just think, if every employee had an admin, what could they accomplish? With that mindset, double down on your organization’s vision and values and determine how AI can help achieve a future everyone wants to be a part of. Paint a clear picture that defines a new reality where employees engage in AI to solve hard problems, increase effectiveness, and elevate business outcomes.
2. Link AI to Business Objectives
Don’t go chasing the new shiny tools, anchor AI initiatives in real business outcomes. Define clear use cases that solve specific problems or unlock measurable opportunities. Identify the pain points, needs and gaps. What are teams struggling with and how might AI help? This keeps efforts focused and avoids tech-for-tech’s-sake distractions.
Instead of asking, “Where does AI fit?” ask “What problem are we solving and where can AI help?”
3. Create Space For Everyone to Experiment and Learn
Make it an expectation to build time and space into the workweek for exploration, experimentation, and training. Empower individuals and teams to go deeper: who can become internal champions? Leverage cross-functional teams to ensure AI solutions are practical, inclusive, and scalable across the business. What resources, vendors, or training can upskill your workforce effectively? Make AI literacy part of your culture, not a temporary initiative, don’t leave learning to chance.
4. Prioritize Responsible Use
Build trust by embedding ethical considerations from the start. Address bias, ensure transparency, and protect data privacy. Responsible AI isn’t just a compliance checkbox, it’s a competitive advantage. Setting appropriate expectations and managing AI responsibly is a non-negotiable.
As AI tools gain autonomy, so do the risks. Limit access to sensitive data, monitor AI behavior, and align closely with security advisors to avoid unintended consequences.
5. Celebrate Wins and Amplify Impact
Showcase successes and highlight AI results like hours saved, decision-making improvements, and streamlined communication. Build momentum, not fear, by emphasizing value creation and efficiencies, not personnel reductions and technology replacements. Don’t aim to do more with less, instead aim to do more with more.
By leading with purpose, investing in people, and aligning AI with real business problems, organizations can unlock not just efficiency, but possibility.
This is your opportunity to build a culture that’s bold, adaptive, and aligned for the future. Done right, AI won’t replace people, it will empower them and make your organization not just AI-ready, but AI-resilient. That’s a win for everyone.